:     \OfPLES  OF 
PROFITABLE    FARMING 


(•; .';::.. AN  KA..    we:  ;;;s 


UI-IV.  Of     (,:AL. 
I  XPT.   ii'tA.   LIB. 


AGR1C. 


PRinCIPLGS  OF 


PRINCIPLES  OF  PROFITABLE 
FARMING. 


Published  by 

GERMAN  KALI  WORKS, 

(Incorporated) 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

42  Broadway,  448  Monadnock  Block 


.iL 


Every  farmer  can  obtain,  free   of  charge,    a   copy    of  thj 
following  agricultural  books: 

POTASH  IX  AGRICULTURE 

COTTON  CULTURE 

TOBACCO  CULTURE 

TROPICAL  PLANTING 

STASSFURT  INDUSTRY 

FERTILIZING  TOBACCO 

FERTILIZING  SUGAR  CANE 

SUGAR  CANE  CULTURE 

THE  COW  PEA 

PLANT  FOOD 

TRUCK  FARMING 

WHY  THE  FISH  FAILED 

'        FARMERS'  NOTE  BOOK 

STRAWBERRY  CULTURE 

ORANGE  CULTURE 

VNLUK  OF  SWAMP  LANDS 

SUGAR  BKET  CULTURE 

State    which    of   the    abuve    mentioned  publications   you 
desire,  and  it  will  be  mailed  to  you  free  of  charge. 

ADDRESS: 

GERMAN  KALI  WORKS 

NEW  YORK,  CHICAGO,   ILL. 

42  Broadway,  448  Monadnock  Blk. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE, 

Preface '. 5 

Introduction .  .*. * 6 

PART  I. 

Profitable  Manuring 9 

Green  Manuring 15 

Potash-Phosphate  Manuring 19 

Plant  Food  must  be  Available  to  be  Useful... 24 

Soil  Improvement 27 

PART  II. 

How  to  Experiment 29 

Simple  Plan  for  Experimenting    32 

A  more  Elaborate  Plan  for  Experimenting 33 

Precautions   necessary   in    Making    Experiments   with 

Fertilizers 36 

Time  of  Applying  Fertilizers 38 

PART  III. 

Experiment  Farm  at  Southern  Pines*  N»  G.. . ,      —  .  •  39 

274359 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS— Continued 
PART  IV. 

PAGE. 

Results  of  Official  Fertilize!1  Experiments , 5  * 

Cotton 52 

Cotton  Blight  (Rust)     53 

Potatoes 55 

Corn ! 59 

Hemp 63 

PART  V. 

Useful  Tables. 

Average  Composition  of  Potash  Salts 65 

Composition  of  Fertilizer  Materials  used  as  Sources  of 

Phosphoric  Acid 66 

Composition  of  Fertilizer  Materials  used  as  Sources  of 

Nitrogen 67 

Average  Composition  of  the  most  important  Farm 

Manures 68 

Amount  of  Fertilizer  Ingredients  contained  in  the 

Crop  from  one  Acre 69 

Usual  Distances  for  Planting  Vegetables 70 

Distances  for  Planting  Trees 7 1 

Number  of  Plants  per  Acre  at  Various  Distances 72 


PREFACE. 


following  pages  are  intended  to  make  clear  to 
practical  farmers  the  broad  principles  of  scientific 
manuring,  and  their  use  in  every-day  farm  work.  Farmers 
need  have  no  fear  that  scientific  farming  goes  beyond  their 
powers  of  understanding.  It  is  plain  and  simple,  and  does 
not  call  for  extra  outlay  in  time  or  money  ;  but  it  must  be 
studied  carefully.  The  scientific  farmer  knows  why  he 
does  things,  hence  he  is  always  able  to  make  the  best  of  a 
good  season,  and  also  of  a  bad  season.  When  a  certain 
plan  of  working  fails  after  many  seasons'  successful  use, 
there  must  be  a  cause  for  the  failure.  The  science  of 
farming  aids  the  farmer  in  studying  out  such  causes,  so 
their  presence  may  be  known  in  time  and  the  danger  of 
failure  checked^  that  a  whole  season's  work  may  not 
be  loft 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  contents  (with  illustrations)  of  this  pamphlet  are 
grouped  into  five  parts,  as  follows  : 

Part  I  is  a  free  translation  of  Prof.  Paul  Wagner's 
celebrated  report  on  "The  Rational  Fertilization  of  Agri- 
cultural Plants"  ("Die  Rationelle  Duengung").  As  this 
valuable  report,  is  in  a  foreign  language  and  not  accessible 
to  most  readers,  it  is  believed  that  a  synopsis  will  prove  to 
be  of  much  interest  to  the  masses  of  American  farmers. 
Prof.  Wagner  is  director  of  the  Experiment  Station  at 
Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  his  official  experiments  in  plant 
nutrition  and  in  the  use  of  artificial  fertilizers,  have  given 
him  a  world-wide  reputation  as  an  agricultural  authority. 
His  experiments,  which  show  that  leguminous  plants,  such 
as  clover,  peas  and  beans,  have  the  power  of  assimilating 
large  amounts  of  nitrogen  from  the  air,  when  sufficient 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid  are  present  in  the  soil,  and  that  this 
element  of  plant  food  can  bo  used  to  fertilize  succeeding 
crops,  are  of  exceedingly  great  value  and  make  possible 
a  saving  of  millions  of  dollars  to  farmers. 

Part  II  gives  the  simplest  way  of  testing  the  manure 
or  fertilizer  needs  of  any  soil.  It  explains  the  nature  of 
what  are  commonly  known  as  plot  experiments. 

Manures,  fertilizers,  crops  for  green  manuring,  or 
whatever  is  successfully  used  as  plant  food  for  the  purpose 


of  increasing  the  growth  of  plants,  always  contain  one  or  att 
of  these  three  substances,  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen. 
A  luxuriant  plant  growth  is  not  caused  merely  by  the 
manure  or  fertilizer  as  such,  but  by  the  potash,  phos- 
phoric acid  and  nitrogen  contained  in  it.  It  must  be  kept 
clearly  in  mind  that  plants  need  all  three  of  these  plant 
foods ;  no  one  of  them  can  do  the  work  of  the  other  two, 
nor  any  two  the  work  of  the  other  one.  However  rich  a 
soil  may  be  in  any  one  of  them,  or  in  any  two,  if  one  is 
totally  lacking,  no  plant  can  grow  ;  if  one  of  these  sub- 
stances is  present,  say  only  in  sufficient  quantity  for  a 
quarter  crop,  only  a  quarter  crop  will  be  grown,  even  if 
the  other  two  substances  be  present  in  great  excess  of  the 
needs  of  a  full  crop. 

Once  the  nature  of  plant  food  is  well  understood,  plot 
experiments  become  simple.  The  idea  is  to  determine 
which  of  the  three  elements  of  plant  food  the  soil  needs. 
This  the  experimenter  learns  by  "putting  the  question"  to 
the  soil  itself.  He  applies  different  fertilizing  materials  on 
different  plots,  and  he  gets  his  answer  in  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  crop  the  plots  produce. 

Part  III  includes  a  description  of  the  Experiment 
Farm  at  Southern  Pines,  North  Carolina.  The  State 
Horticultural  Society  of  North  Carolina  is  conducting 
there  an  elaborate  and  extensive  series  of  experiments  with 
fertilizers  to  determine  the  needs  of  different  horticultural 
Crops  in  the  field.  This  enterprise  is  managed  with  great 
thoroughness  and  the  experiments  are  directed  by  trained 


observers ;  the  results  are  of  great  practical  benefit  to 
farmers,  not  only  in  the  Southern  States,  but  also  through- 
out the  country. 

Part  IV  is  devoted  to  the  results  of  potash  fertilization 
at  various  experiment  stations.  The  results  obtained  by 
these  field  tests  with  different  crops  show  the  need  of 
potash  in  a  variety  of  soils  and  upon  widely  scattered 
farms.  Many  photographs  of  results  of  different  experi- 
ments were  taken,  and  some  of  them  are  faithfully  repro- 
duced in  these  pages.  The  illustrations  presented  may  be 
relied  upon  as  strictly  accurate  views  of  actual  experi- 
ments. 

Part  V  comprises  a  series  of  tables,  which  farmers  will 
find  useful,  The  figures  are  in  every  case  authentic. 


PART  1. 


PROFITABLE  MANURING. 

MANURING  or  fertilizing  in  this  book  means  the  use 
of  the  manurial  substances,  —  potash,  phosphoric 
acid  and  nitrogen, — for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  growth 
of  plants.  In  practical  farming  the  object  is  to  get  the 
greatest  growth  for  the  least  amount  of  these  manurial 
principles,  or  in  other  words,  to  avoid  using  manures  or 
fertilizers  wasteful ly.  A  crop  needs  certain  quantities  of 


J  .     I 


FIG.    I.       EFFECT   OF   NITROGEN   FERTILIZER   ON   GRAIN. 

potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen,  and  must  have  them 
all  to  make  the  crop  ;  but  there  is  a  way  to  make  certain 
crops  fertilizer  producers  as  well  as  crop-makers,  as  shown 
by  the  following  experiments. 

The  first  experiment  shows  the  effect  of  attempting  to 
grow  certain  crops  without  nitrogen. 

Figure  i  shows  wheat  and  barley,  grown  in  pots.  Of 
the  four  pots  of  each  experiment^  two  (marked  O)  were 


10 


PROFITABLE    MANURING. 


fertilized  with  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  the  remaining 
two  (marked  N)  also  received  potash  and  phosphoric  acid 
and  in  addition  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  nitrate  of  soda. 
The  increase  of  growth  in  the  pots  where  nitrate  of  soda  was 
used,  shows  the  effect  of  nitrogen.  Stated  in  figures,  the 
gain  was  three  to  one.  This  experiment  was  made  with  soil 
known  to  be  deficient  in  nitrogen,  and  serves  to  show 


FIG.    2.      LEGUMES   NEED    LITTLE   NITROGEN   FERTILIZER. 

beyond  doubt  that  these  two  crops  cannot  be  grown  to 
advantage  unless  there  is  enough  nitrogen  supplied  to 
balance  properly  the  potash  and  phosphoric  acid. 

Figure  2  shows  the  same  treatment,  the  plants  in  this 
case  being  Vetches.     The  results  show  that  some  plants,  at 


PROFITABLE    MANURING.  II 

least,  do  riot  require  any  considerable  amount  of  nitrogen 
manuring ;  and  that  it  would  be  wasteful  to  use  much 
nitrogen  fertilizer  on  such. 

We  have  gone  to  some  trouble  to  illustrate  this  point, 
as  it  is  the  basis  of  profitable  manuring,  and  must  be  fully 
understood  as  a  fact.  For  the  purpose  of  profitable  manur- 
ing, plants  may  be  divided  into  two  classes  :  First,  those 
which  need  nitrogen  manuring ;  and  second,  those  which  do 
not  need  nitrogen  manuring.  Among  the  plants  of  the  first 
class  are  wheat,  corn,  oats,  rye,  barley,  potatoes,  beets, 
turnips,  cabbage,  etc.  Among  those  of  the  second  class  are 
peas,  beans,  vetches,  serradella,  cow  peas,  alfalfa  and  all  the 
clovers.  Plants  of  the  second  class  are  called  legumes. 
They  have  the  power  of  drawing  the  nitrogen  from  the  air 
and  changing  it  into  forms  suitable  for  plant  food.  This 
power  is  due  to  the  action  of  certain  bacteria  which  infest 
the  roots  of  plants  of  this  class,  and  whose  presence  is 
recognized  by  the  growth  of  little  knots  on  the  roots,  the 
so-called  root  "nodules,"  as  shown  in  the  illustration 
Fig.  3  on  the  next  page. 

We  have  spoken  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  to 
ialance  the  nitrogen  ;  this  means  that  if  a  plant  is  supplied 
with  a  certain  amount  of  nitrogen  in  plant  food,  a  certain 
amount  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  must  also  be  supplied. 
If  the  amount  of  nitrogen  is  reduced  by  one-half,  the  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid  also  may  be  reduced  by  one-half ;  if 
this  is  not  done,  the  extra  half  of  the  potash  and  phosphoric 
would  not  be  of  any  use,  there  being  no  nitrogen  to 


PROFITABLE    MANURING 


FIG.    3.       COW  PEA  PLANT,   SHOWING  ROOT  NODULES. 

associate  with  the  two  ingredients  to  make  a  complete  plant 
food.  A  complete  plant  food,  whether  farmyard  manure, 
commercial  fertilizer,  or  a  home-made  mixture  of  fertil- 


PROFITABLE    MANURING.  IJ 

izer  chemicals,  should  contain  such  quantities  of  potash, 
phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen,  that,  as  nearly  as  may  be, 
all  of  each  is  taken  up  by  the  crop.  A  manure  or  fertilizer 
thus  proportioned  is  said  to  be  well  balanced. 

In  the  figures  referred  to  in  the  earlier  part  of  this 
chapter,  an  illustration  is  given  of  an  attempt  to  grow  plants 
without  nitrogen,  and,  through  the  use  of  pictures  taken 
from  actual  photographs,  it  was  shown  that,  except  in  the 
case  of  the  class  of  plants  called  legumes,  plants  cannot 
make  any  useful  growth  without  nitrogen.  Had  Prof. 
Wagner  withheld  either  potash  or  phosphoric  acid,  no  con- 
siderable growth  would  have  been  made  in  the  case  of  either 
the  barley  or  the  legumes.  The  illustration  was  made, 
however,  not  to  show  that  any  crop  or  crops  can  do  without 
one  or  another  of  the  elements  of  plant  food,  but  to  show 
that  a  certain  class  of  plants  can  supply  their  own  nitrogen. 
Legumes  must  have  nitrogen  as  well  as  other  plants,  but  do 
not  need  much  nitrogen  manuring.  This  one  point  is  the 
basis  of  the  most  important  detail  of  profitable  manuring. 

Manuring,  as  already  stated,  means  the  use  of  potash, 
phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  in  growing  a  crop.  Profitable 
manuring  includes  the  selling  of  the  crop  for  an  increase 
over  the  cost  of  the  manure,  cost  of  seeding,  tillage,  and 
other  necessary  expenses  Thus  plant  food  may  be 
regarded  as  something  which  is  bought  to  grow  crops  and 
sold  as  crops  to  repay  for  the  investment.  Therefore*  the 
potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  converted  into  crops 
should  always  be  sold  at  a  much  higher  price  than  they  cost 


14  PROFITABLE    MANURING, 

in  the  form  of  plant  food.  Nitrogen  is  the  most  expensive 
of  the  three  elements  of  plant  food  and  costs  from  two  to 
three  times  as  much  per  pound  as  either  potash  or  phos- 
phoric acid  ;  the  latter  two  cost  about  the  same  per  pound. 
A  rough  example  will  illustrate  the  broad  general  principles 
of  profitable  manuring  at  its  best.  Assuming  that  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid  cost  each  5  cents  per  pound,  and  nitrogen 

15  cents  per  pound,  and  that  to  grow  a  fair  crop  of  clover 
requires  per  acre  90   pounds  of  potash  and  20  pounds  of 
phosphoric  acid,  there  would  be  a  total  cost  for  plant  food 
of  $5.50  per  acre.      The  crop  will  contain   82   pounds  of 
nitrogen,  90  pounds  of  potash  and  20  pounds  of  phosphoric 
acid  with  a  value  as  follows  : 

Nitrogen  82  Ibs.  at  15  cts $12.30 

Potash  90    "    "     5     " ,     4.50 

Phosphoric  acid     20    "    "     5      " i.oo 

Total $17  80 

Cost 5.50 

Gain $i  2.30 

While  these  results  are  theoretical,  pure  and  simple, 
still  they  represent  the  problem  of  using  legumes  profitably. 
In  many  crops  the  margin  of  profit  is  narrow,  and  it  is  only 
by  making  use  of  legume  nitrogen  that  the  results  may 
show  a  balance  on  the  right  side.  It  is  not  enough  that  a 
farmer  in  these  days  must  know  the  nature  of  manures 
generally,  but  he  must  also  know  how  to  make  the  most  of 
and  all  of  them. 


GREEN  MANURING. 

By  green  manuring  is  meant  the  growing  of  crops  for 
the  purpose  of  plowing  them  into  the  soil  to  increase  its 
fertility.  One  of  the  objects  of  green  manuring  is  to  enrich 
the  soil  in  organic  matter,  which  is  valuable,  especially  with 
soils  that  are  either  too  loose  or  too  stiff.  The  improve- 
ment consists  in  bettering  the  mechanical  texture,  making 
soils  more  retentive  of  moisture,  and  consequently  less 
subject  to  the  effects  of  drouth.  The  most  important  feature, 
however,  in  connection  with  green  manuring  lies  in  the  use 
of  legumes,  because  these  plants  are  valuable  not  only  for 
the  organic  matter  they  produce,  but  also  for  the  nitrogen 
they  absorb  from  the  atmosphere,  which  is  useful  as  plant 
food  for  succeeding  crops.  Plants  which  are  not  legumes 
do  not  have  this  property  of  taking  nitrogen  from  the  air. 
Whatever  plant  food  they  contain  has  been  taken  from  the 
soil. 

Prof.  Wagner  has  made  some  interesting  experiments 
showing  the  value  of  legumes  for  green  manuring. 

Figure  4  is  from  a  photograph  illustrating  one  of 
these  experiments.  The  four  pots  to  the  left  were  planted 
with  oats  and  all  of  them  received  sufficient  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid,  but  the  first  two  were  not  supplied  with 
pitrogen,  while  the  other  *  two  received  an  ample  supply. 


i6 


GREEN    MANURING. 


The  difference  in  growth  shows  the  effect  of  the  nitrogen 
added  to  the  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  The  four  pots  to 
the  right  (also  planted  to  oats)  received  potash  and  phos- 
phoric acid  in  the  same  manner,  and  all  four  were  green- 
manured,  the  first  two  by  a  crop  of  mustard,  the  second  two 
by  a  crop  of  vetches.  These  green-manure  crops  were 
grown  in  the  pots  the  previous  season  and  worked  into  the 
soil. 


•4.- 


U4- 


FIG.    4. 


DIFFERENT    RESULTS   FROM    LEGUME   AND    NON-LEGUME 
GREEN   MANURE. 


As  will  be  seen  from  the  picture,  the  effect  of  mustard 
and  vetches,  when  used  as  green-manure  crops,  is  strikingly 
different.  Green  manuring  with  mustard  (a  non-legume) 
failed  to  supply  the  nitrogen  needed,  and  a  very  poor  crop 
of  oats  resulted — practically  no  better  than  where  neither 
nitrogen  nor  green  manuring  was  used;  while  vetches 
(legumes),  being  nitrogen  gatherers,  supplied  the  nitrogen 
needed  to  make  a  good  crop  of  t  oats,  and  proved  equal  to 
the  nitrate  of  soda  in  the  first  case. 


GREEN    MANURING.  i; 

Figure  5  refers  to  another  of  Prof.  Wagner's  important 
experiments  bearing  on  green  manuring.  All  eight  pots 
received  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  alike.  The  first  two 
pots  received  no  nitrogen,  second  two  were  green  manured 
with  lupines,  the  third  two  with  buck\vheat  and  the  fourth 
two  with  peas.  The  results  show  the  usefulness  of  green 
manuring  with  legumes  and  the  failure  with  non-legumes 


FIG.    5.       DIFFERENT  RESULTS  FROM  LEGUME  AND  NON-LEGUME 
GREEN  MANURE. 

that  is,  plants  that  do  not  have  the  power  of  drawing  nitro 
gen  from  the  atmosphere. 

As  has  been  shown  by  the  illustrations,  crops  like 
buckwheat  and  mustard  are  not  adapted  for  green  manur- 
ing, but  farmers  sometimes  raise  these  crops  in  the  fall, 
manuring  them  with  nitrogen  fertilizers,  so  as  to  get  a 
good  growth,  arid  plow  them  under  in  the  spring.  Many 
experiments  and  practical  experience  show  that  this  method 


iS 


GREEN    MANURING. 


of  green  manuring  is  not  advisable  or  economical.  The 
reason  is  that  the  nitrogen  in  its  usually  soluble  form,  as 
applied  in  nitrate  of  soda,  changes  into  less  soluble  organic 
compounds,  which  are  not  so  readily  available  as  plant  food 
for  the  succeeding  crop. 

Figure  6  illustrates  an  experiment  by  Prof.  Wagner 
on  this  subject.     The  ten  pots  were  all  manured  alike  as  to 


FIG.    6.       DIFFERENT   RESULTS    FROM    NITROGEN    APPLICATION    IN    THE 
FALL  AND    IN   THE   SPRING. 


potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  and  were  divided  into  two 
series  of  five  pots  each.  The  five  pots  in  the  first  series  (to 
the  left  in  the  illustration)  were  planted  to  mustard,  with 
nitrogen  applied  in  the  fall.  The  following  spring  the 
mustard  was  worked  into  the  soil  as  a  (non-legume? 
green  manure,  and  oats  were  planted.  The  second  series 
received  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen  as  the  first  series, 
but  it  was  applied  in  the  spring  directly  to  the  oats.  The 
oats  in  the  pots  on  the  right  made  a  stronger  growth  and 


GREEN    MANURING.  Ip 

the  results  show  that  a  direct  application  of  nitrate  of  soda 
to  the  crop  to  be  grown  is  more  effective  than  an  indirect 
application,  using  it  in  the  form  of  a  non-legume  green- 
manure. 

This  point,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  true  when  the 
effectiveness  of  green-manure  as  a  fertilizer  is  under  study; 
if  the  green  crop  is  intended  merely  to  prevent  soil  wash- 
ing, as  a  soil  cover,  or  as  a  means  of  preventing  loss  by 
leaching  of  available  plant  food,  non-legumes  may,  of 
course,  be  used.  As  a  matter  of  practical  farm  economy, 
however,  legumes  should  always  be  grown  if  possible,  so 
that  the  supply  of  fertilizer  nitrogen  may  be  increased. 


POTASH— PHOSPHATE  MANURING. 

In  the  illustrations  so  far  presented,  the  reader  will 
notice  that  in  each  case  the  pots  have  been  supplied  with 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  because  no  plant  can  make  its 
growth  without  these  two  substances.  Furthermore,  in 
order  that  leguminous  plants  may  accumulate  their  ferti- 
lizer nitrogen,  it  is  necessary  that  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid  be  applied  first,  or  at  any  rate  be  present  in  the  soil  in 
available  forms  and  in  ample  quantities.  Many  soils  con- 
tain considerable  quantities  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid, 
but  as  they  are  in  such  an  insoluble  state,  they  cannot  be 
absorbed  by  the  growing  crop  and  are,  therefore,  of  little 
value. 


20 


POTASH-PHOSPHATE   MANURING. 


FIG    7.       SHOWING,     KFFKCT    OF    POTASH-PHOSPH  A  T  !•     MAM   RING    ON 

Li-:(;rMHS  AND  NON-Li-(;rMi':s, 


POTASH-PHOSPHATE    MANURING.  21 

The  need  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  is  well 
illustrated  in  another  of  Prof.  Wagner's  experiments.  The 
pots  shown  in  the  upper  half  of  illustration  Figure  7 
were  planted  to  peas,  and  are  divided  into  three  sets  of  two 
pots  each.  They  were  treated  as  follows:  First  two,  no 
fertilizers  ;  second  two,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  ;  third 
two,  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  The  three  sets 
are  marked  by  "O" — no  fertilizer,  "KP" — potash  and 
phosphoric  acid,  and  "  KPN" — potash,  phosphoric  acid  and 
nitrogen.  The  growth  shows  that  potash-phosphate  ma- 
nuring was  practically  as  effective  as  when  nitrogen  was 
added,  and  that  the  use  of  nitrogen  fertilizers  in  this  case 
was  a  needless  expense. 

The  lower  half  of  this  illustration  shows  pots  treated 
exactly  the  same  way,  but  planted  to  oats,  a  non-legume 
As  the  picture  shows,  the  potash- phosphate  pots  are 
scarcely  better  than  those  not  manured  ;  but  the  pots 
treated  with  nitrogen,  in  addition  to  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid,  made  an  excellent  growth.  In  other  words,  the  peas 
secured  practically  all  the  nitrogen  they  needed,  but  the 
oats  have  not  this  power,  and  unless  they  are  given  the  fer 
tilizer  nitrogen,  they  will  fail  to  make  profitable  growth 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  the  results  would 
have  been  similar  had  the  legumes,  instead  of  peas,  been 
any  of  che  clovers,  vetches,  lupines,  soja  beans,  etc. 

From  the  data  already  given,  Prof.  Wagner  established 
two  important  conclusions  : 

T.  Sufficient  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  must  be  sup- 


*i  POTASH-PHOSPHATE    MANURING. 

plied  in  order  that  leguminous  plants  may  be  able  to  draw 
a  full  supply  of  free  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  thus  reach 
their  full  growth. 

2.  In  order  that  grain  and  all  other  farm  crops  may 
utilize  the  nitrogen  present  in  the  soil,  it  is  necessary  that 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  be  also 
present  in  the  soil. 

A  very  striking  practical  illustration  of  successful 
green  manuring  is  in  meadows  of  mixed  grasses.  Among 
the  grasses  in  meadows  will  be  found  more  or  less  of  clo- 
vers and  other  legumes,  and  if  a  meadow  be  fertilized  with 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  these  leguminous  plants  will 
show  a  more  vigorous  growth  and  condition. 

The  grasses  of  such  meadows  will  also  show  the  bene- 
ficial effect  of  this  treatment.  The  first  year  or  two  they 
may  not  seem  to  do  much  better  than  before.  That  is 
because  they  were  not  supplied  with  sufficient  nitrogen. 
But  in  the  third  and  fourth  years,  the  grasses  begin  to 
thrive  and  run  rank,  because  they  feed  upon  the  nitrogen 
supplied  to  the  soil  by  the  decaying  leaves,  stalks  and  roots 
of  the  legumes,  the  growth  of  which  was  promoted  by  the 
use  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid. 

Every  farmer  should  practice  potash-phosphate  fertili- 
zation on  poor  meadow  fields.  It  is  thus  possible  to  trans- 
form an  unprofitable  "  grass  meadow "  into  i  valuable 
"clover  meadow."  By  repeated  and  heavy  applications  of 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  the  very  appearance  of  a  neg- 
lected meadow,  which  has  produced  only  sour  grasses,  can 


WITHOUT   FERTILIZER. 


FERTILIZED    WITH    PHOSPHORIC   ACID. 


FERTILIZED    WITH    PHOSPHORIC    ACID   AND    POTASH. 

Showing  effect  of  Potash-Phosphate  Fertilization  on  Meadows. 
.Experiments  by  Prof.  Hellstroem  (Sweden). 


24  POTASH-PHOSPHATE    MANURING, 

be  entirely  changed,  owing  to  the  predominance  and  rank 
development  of  clovers  and  other  legumes. 

This  is  well  illustrated  in  the  pictures  on  page  23, 
which  have  reference  to  the  experiments  by  Prof.  Hell- 
stroem  of  Sweden. 

To  sum  up:  It  is  necessary  to  supply  liberal  amounts  of 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid  to  the  soil  in  order  that  the  costly 
nitrogen  present ,  or  applied  in  the  form  of  fertilizers ,  or  in  the 
form  of  green  manuring,  may  exert  its  full  effect  upon  the 
growing  plants  and  thus  produce  a  maximum  crop. 


PLANT  FOOD  MUST  BE  AVAILABLE  TO  BE  USEFUL. 

All  farmers  should  know,  by  this  time,  that  what  is 
commonly  called  "plant  food,"  comprises  three  ingredients: 
Potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen.  Large  quantities  of 
these  plant  food  elements  are  usually  present  in  agricul- 
tural soils,  most  of  which,  however,  is  in  an  insoluble 
(unavailable)  condition,  and,  therefore,  useless  to  growing 
plants.  Thus  soils  may  contain,  as  shown  by  chemical 
analysis,  large  supplies  of  plant  food  and  still  fail  for  the 
lack  of  it.  Prof.  Wagner  shows  this  by  an  experiment, 
illustrated  in  Fig.  9. 

The  four  pots  to  the  left  contain  clay  soil,  the  four 
pots  to  the  right  sandy  soil.  The  crop  planted  was  peas 
The  first  two  pots  in  each  soil  received  no  potash  fertilizer, 


PLANT    FOOD    MUST    BE    AVAILABLE    TO    BE    USEFUL.  25 

while  the  second  two  pots  of  each  soil  were  given  the  regu- 
lar potash  application.  While  the  clayey  soil  without 
potash  fertilizer  produced  a  heavier  growth  than  the  sandy 
soil  under  the  same  conditions,  the  application  of  potash  in 
both  cases  showed  a  material  gain  from  its  use,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that,  in  all  the  pots,  the  soil  contained 
enormous  quantities  of  potash  naturally  Of  the  two  soils 


FIG.    9.       THE    POTASH    IN    SOILS    IS    OF    NO    VALUE,    UNLESS    AVAILABLE 

used,  the  amount  of  potash  in  the  top  twelve  inches  of  one 
acre,  was  as  follows: 

Clayey  soil 8249  Ibs. 

Sandy   soil 2110    u 

The  amount  of  potash  applied  to  the  soil  was  about 
100  pounds  per  acre,  whereas  the  crop  removed  only  about 
70  pounds.  This  small  fertilizer  application  of  available 
potash  made  all  the  difference  between  success  and  failure 


26         PLANT    FOOD    MUST    BE    AVAILABLE    TO    BE    USEFUL. 

on  these  two  soils,  although  the  sandy  soil  contained 
enough  potash  for  30  successive  crops,  and  the  clayey  seal 
for  117  and  more. 

The  principle,  that  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitro- 
gen, to  be  useful  to  plants,  must  be  in  an  available  form, 
refers  with  equal  force  to  plant  food  contained  in  artificial 
fertilizers,  their  agricultural  value  is  dependent  on  and 
measured  solely  by  the  available  potash,  available  phosphoric 
acid  and  available  nitrogen,  which  they  contain.  Thus 
crude  phosphate  rock,  while  very  rich  in  phosphoric  acid, 
is  nearly  valueless  as  plant  food,  and  the  phosphoric  acid  it 
contains  must  be  made  soluble  (available)  by  treatment 
with  sulphuric  acid  (acidulated)  and  converted  into  "acid 
phosphate,"  so  that  it  may  become  useful.  The  same  refers 
to  crude  bones,  which  contain  their  phosphoric  acid,  for  the 
most  part,  in  an  unavailable  condition,  and  must  be  con- 
verted into  acidulated  or  "  dissolved  bone  "  to  become  fully 
effective.  The  potash  in  potash  salts  from  the  Stassfurt 
mines  is  all  soluble  in  water,  and,  therefore,  readily  avail 
able  to  the  crop.  The  potash  contained  in  feldspar  and 
other  natural  products  is  insoluble  and  practically  useless, 
while  that  contained  in  organic  matter  is  slowly  available. 
Nitrogen  is  also  irregular  in  availability  ;  in  the  form  of 
nitrate  of  soda  and  sulphate  of  ammonia,  it  is  readily  soluble 
and  available;  in  dried  blood,  fish  scrap  and  tankage,  it  is 
more  slowly  available  ;  while  in  leather  and  wool  wastes, 
the  nitrogen  is  so  slowly  available,  that  they  are  well  nigh 
worthless  as  plant  food. 


SOIL  IMPROVEMENT. 


The  experiments  by  Prof.  Wagner  show,  first,  that 
plants  of  a  certain  class  have  the  power  of  absorbing  nitro- 
gen from  the  air,  and  converting  it  into  such  a  form  that  it 
serves  as  plant  food.  They  show,  further,  how  this  nitro- 
gen may  be  afterwards  employed  to  the  best  advantage  in 
practical  planting  or  farming.  The  reader,  however,  should 
thoroughly  understand  that,  though  these  legumes  have  the 
power  of  absorbing  nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere,  still  they 
in  turn  must  be  fed  with  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  to 
promote  full  growth.  While  *it  is  not  known  exactly  how 
much  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  is  necessary  to  enable  a 
legume  to  gather  or  produce  or  "  make  "  one  pound  of  fer- 
tilizer nitrogen,  it  may  be  estimated,  by  taking  the  compo- 
sition of  a  number  of  staple  legume  crops.  The  following 
table  shows  the  pounds  of  plant  food  contained  in  an 
average  acre  of  several  legume  crops  : 


POTASH. 

PHOSPHORIC 
ACID. 

NITROGEN. 

Red   Clover  

184  Ibs. 

52  Ibs. 

212  Ibs 

Crimson  Clover.  .  .  . 

196      *' 

42    '• 

172      " 

Alfalfa  

224      " 

C2      " 

288      " 

Cow  Peas  

124      ** 

40     " 

108    " 

Common  Vetch  

280      " 

60      " 

236    •• 

Total  

1008  Ibs. 

246  Ibs. 

1016  Ibs. 

Average,  .  , 

202  Ibs. 

4.0  Ibs. 

203  Ibs. 

s  »                  -.., 

2$  SOIL    IMPROVEMENT. 

For  203  pounds  of  nitrogen,  as  an  average,  are 
required  202  pounds  of  potash  and  49  pounds  of  phos- 
phoric acid.  That  means  for  every  pound  of  nitrogen 
u  made  "  by  the  use  of  legumes,  the  crop  must  have  used 
one  pound  of  potash  and  about  one-quarter  of  a  pound  oj 
phosphoric  acid. 

Mucli  has  been  said  about  clovers  "  leaving  the  soil 
better  than  they  find  it,"  and  it  is  the  common  belief 
that  they  improve  the  soil.  This  is  true  in  one  sense,  but 
not  in  another.  To  illustrate,  a  clover  crop,  cut  for  hay, 
removed  from  the  soil  per  acre  about  184  pounds  of 
potash,  15 2  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  and  212  pounds  of 
nitrogen.  Of  this  most  of  the  nitrogen  may  come  from 
the  air,  but  the  potish  and  phosphoric  acid  come  from  the 
soil,  and  when  the  crop  is  removed,  the  soil  is  poorer  by 
just  that  much  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  The  rowen,  or 
after-crop,  contains  nitrogen  which  may  be  turned  into  the 
soil  ;  also,  the  roots  and  stubble  count  for  something.  At 
che  same  time,  all  must  keep  in  mind,  that  the  gain  is  in 
nitrogen  only,  and  there  is  not  even  this  gain  if  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid  are  lacking.  Clover  failure  is  very 
common,  indeed,  but  a  farmer  rarely  stops  to  think  that 
exhaustion  of  the  soil  in  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  may 
be  the  cause  of  it. 

To  sum  up  :  To  use  legumes  profitably,  they  must  be 
well  supplied  with  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  and  the 
crop  either  turned  under  as  green-manure,  or  used  as 
forage  and  returned  to  the  soil  as  farmyard  manure.  In 


SOIL   IMPROVEMENT.  99 

either  case,  a  sale  crop,  such  as  wheat,  corn,  oats,  barley, 
potatoes,  or  other  non-legume,  should  be  grown,  to  be 
followed  by  a  legume  again,  either  the  following  season, 
or  the  second  season  after.  In  this  way  less  nitrogen 
fertilizer  need  be  bought,  and  this  comprises  practically 
the  whole  value  of  legumes  as  a  fertilizer. 


PART  II. 

HOW  TO  EXPERIMENT. 

In  Part  I  is  given  in  detail  the  general  nature  of 
legumes  or  nitrogen  gatherers,  and  the  best  use  to  be 
n. ade  of  them.  At  best,  however,  legumes  are  only  an  aid> 
and  on  many  farms  and  plantations  legumes  cannot  be 
gr  )wn  regularly  in  such  manner  as  to  supply  most  of  the 
nitrogen  fertilizer  needed.  There  also  remains  to  be 
determined  on  all  farms  the  natural  richness  of  the  soil, 
that  is,  its  contents  in  available  potash,  phosphoric  acid 
and  nitrogen.  Chemical  analysis  informs  us  how  much 
plant  food  a  soil  contains,  but  unfortunately  it  does  not 
indicate  what  portion  of  this  plant  food  is  in  an  available 
or  useful  form.  A  soil,  as  we  have  shown  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  may  contain  potash  enough  for  a  hundred  crops, 
and  still  fail  for  lack  of  available  potash  plant  food. 


JO  HOW    TO    EXPERIMENT. 

The  only  reliable  way  to  determine  the  crop-making 
value  or  power  of  a  soil  is  by  making  what  are  called  plot 
experiments.  Small  portions  of  land,  usually  one-tenth  or 
one-twentieth  of  an  acre  each,  are  laid  out  on  an  even, 
level  field.  These  plots  are  all  broken,  seeded  and  tilled 
precisely  in  the  same  manner,  but  are  treated  differently 
as  to  applications  of  plant  food.  Some  of  the  plots  receive 
no  fertilizer,  others  one  or  two  or  all  three  of  the  plant 
food  ingredients  and  in  varying  proportions.  The  crops 
are  harvested  separately  from  each  plot,  carefully  weighed, 
and  their  quality  noted.  Thus,  the  results  obtained  from 
the  various  plots  show  the  effectiveness  of  the  different 
fertilizer  combinations  in  producing  yield  and  quality. 
Plot  experiments  have  been  made  extensively  for  years 
and  a  great  deal  of  valuable  information  has  been  obtained 
from  them,  but  it  is  necessary  to  continue  them  more  or 
less  all  the  time,  as  soils  change  quickly  when  not  system- 
atically fertilized. 

The  agricultural  experiment  stations,  as  a  rule,  make 
fertilizer  experiments,  some  of  them  extensively,  but  the 
stations  have  many  problems  in  agriculture  to  work  out, 
and  cannot  give  all  their  attention  to  one  line  of  work.  In 
Europe  there  are  a  number  of  special  experiment  farms, 
confined  largely  to  the  study  of  plant  food  and  soils.  In 
this  country  thus  far  we  have  but  one,  the  Experiment 
Farm  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Horticultural  Society,  at 
Southern  Pines,  North  Carolina,  of  which  a  more  detailed 
account  will  be  given  later  in  this  book. 


HOW    TO    EXPERIMENT.  3! 

The  careful  work  that  is  done  at  experiment  stations 
and  experiment  farms  is  useful  mainly  for  the  study  ana 
definition  of  scientific  principles,  and  is  thus  of  great  value 
and  importance,  the  practical  application,  however,  in 
individual  cases  should  depend  on  home  experiments. 
Not  only  do  the  various  agricultural  crops  differ  widely  in 
their  requirements  of  plant  food  elements,  especially  when 
grown  under  different  conditions,  but  also  the  various  soils 
of  the  farm  show  different  needs,  and  the  same  kind  of  soil 
may  vary  under  different  treatment,  even  from  one  season 
to  another.  Hence  every  progressive  farmer,  who  wishes 
to  economize  his  resources  and  to  use  fertilizers  to  his  best 
advantage  and  with  the  largest  profit,  must  continuously 
study  the  condition  of  his  soils  and  crops,  and  must  himself 
become  an  experimenter.  Decisive  results  are  rarely 
obtained  in  one  season,  and  frequently  the  experiments  are 
spoiled  by  unfavorable  weather,  insects,  plant  diseases  and 
other  causes,  therefore,  the  experimenter  is  advised  to 
continue  his  trials  with  fertilizers  from  year  to  year. 
Every  farmer  will  be  fully  repaid  for  his  time  and  trouble, 
after  he  definitely  learns  what  his  soils  and  crops  require, 
and  the  knowledge  gained  will  be  worth  many  dollars  to 
him  in  buying  and  using  fertilizers. 

The  following  simple  plan  for  experimenting  can  be 
carried  out  by  any  farmer  without  difficulty,  and  enables 
him  to  find  out  if  an  increased  yield  can  be  produced  by 
the  use  of  fertilizers. 

One  acre  of  land  can  be  divided  into  three  plots  of 


HOW    TO    EXPERIMENT. 


one-third  of  an  acre  each  (a  convenient  size  would  be 
ft.  x  93!  ft.),  and  fertilizer  applied  as  follows: 


No  Fertilizer.  1. 

I 


Phosphoric  Acid.  2 

Nitrogen. 


Potash. 

Phosphoric  Acid, 
Nitrogen. 


From  this  simple  plan  can  be  learned  the  following 
lessons: 

Plot  No.  i  shows  what  the  land  without  any  fertilizer 
will  produce. 

Plot  No.  2  shows  the  effect  of  nitrogen  and  phosphoric 
acid,  without  potash. 

Plot  No.  3  indicates  what  effect  an  average  complete 
fertilizer  will  have. 


A  MORE  ELABORATE  PLAN  FOR  EXPERIMENTING. 

For  those  who  wish  to  make  a  more  detailed  experi- 
ment, so  as  to  study  the  effects  of  different  combinations 
of  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen,  a  more  elaborate 
plan  is  given  on  page  34. 

The  plan  comprises  seven  plots  of  equal  size  and 
separated  by  paths  four  feet  wide.  The  size  of  the  plots 
must  depend  somewhat  on  local  conditions  and  the  kind  of 
crop  to  be  grown.  A  very  convenient  size  is  one-tenth  of 
an  acre.  A  strip  93^-  feet  long  by  46!  feet  wide,  would 
represent  one-tenth  of  an  acre  in  convenient  shape.  How- 
ever, it  may  be  best  to  arrange  differently  if  the  size  is  not 
convenient.  Each  plot  should  be  numbered  separately. 


PLAN  FOR  EXPERIMENT. 
Seven  plots,  each  -fa  acre  in  size  (93^  by  46f  feet). 


No  Fertilizer. 


Potash  and 
Phosphoric  Acid. 

2. 

Potash  and 
Nitrogen. 


3. 


Phosphoric  Acid  and 
Nitrogen. 


Potash, 

Phosphoric  Acid  and 

Nitrogen. 


Potash, 

Phosphoric  Acid, 
Nitrogen  and 
Lime 


No  Fertilizer. 


THE  RESULTS  FROM  THESE  EXPERIMENTAL  PLOTS 
WILL  SHOW: 

Plot  No.  i.  What  the  land  will  produce  without  any 
fertilizer. 

Plot  No.  2.  The  effect  of  Potash  and  Phosphoric  Acid. 

Plot  No.  3,  The  effect  of  Potash  and  Nitrogen. 

Plot  No.  4,  The  effect  of  Phosphoric  Acid  and  Nitrogen. 

Plot  No.  5.  The  effect  of  a  "complete  fertilizer,"  that 
is,  one  containing  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen. 

Plot  No.  6.  The  effect  of  lime  in  connection  with  a 
"complete  fertilizer." 

Plot  No.  7.  Shows  what  the  soil  will  produce  without 
any  fertilizer  ;  it  is  also  a  check  on  Plot  No.  i,  and  will 
indicate  if  the  land  is  uniform  in  composition. 

It  will  be  noticed,  that  one  plot  in  each  series  received 
an  application  of  lime.  This  will  point  out  if  the  soil 
needs  liming.  Some  soils,  through  the  decay  of  vegetable 
matter  in  them,  or  other  causes,  have  become  acid  or 
"sour,"  and  are  unsuited  for  the  growth  of  many  crops, 
unless  lime  is  added.  In  cases  where  land  is  known  to  be 
sour  and  notoriously  deficient  in  lime,  it  is  best  to  modify 
the  above  described  plan  by  applying  lime  to  all  of  the 
plots  with  the  exception  of  plot  No.  6,  which  is  to  be  left 
unlimed  for  comparison.  Lime  corrects  the  acid  condition 
of  the  sour  soils.  The  best  manner  of  applying  the  lime 
would  be  to  slack  it  first  and  then  broadcast  during  fall  or 
winter,  or  at  any  rate,  early  in  the  spring,  so  as  to  allow 
plenty  of  time  for  the  material  to  leach  well  into  the  soil. 


PRECAUTIONS   NECESSARY   IN   MAKING    EXPERIMENTS 
WITH   FERTILIZERS. 

In  the  preceding  pages  it  was  shown  how  to  make 
experiments  with  fertilizers  on  a  simple  and  also  on  a 
more  elaborate  scale.  The  proposition  is  to  judge  the 
effect  of  fertilizers  from  the  actual  increase  produced  by 
their  use.  This  is  simple,  indeed,  yet  accurate  manipula- 
tion and  many  precautions  are  necessary  to  make  such 
experiments  really  truthful  and  reliable,  and  as  a  guide  to 
the  practical  experimenter,  the  following  rules  are  given  : 

1.  The   greatest   care    should    be   taken  to  select  a 
portion  of  the  field  which  is  as  even  in  fertility  as  possible. 
Lack  of  uniformity  of  soil  will  give  misleading  results,  and 
often  render  the  experiments  of  little  value. 

2.  It  is  best  to  select  level  land  for  experimenting. 
If. such  cannot  be  had,  make  the  experimental  plots  run  up 
and  down  the  slope,  so  that  the  washings  by  rain  will  not 
carry  the  fertilizers  from  one  plot  to  another. 

3.  Land  that  has  been  freshly  cleared,  that  has  been 
fertilized  in  preceding  years,  or  that  has  been  in  sod,  is  not 
well  adapted  for  experiments,  because  such  locations  are 
often  uneven  in  fertility,  and,  therefore,   would  not  give 
reliable  results. 

4.  The   experimental    field   can    be    measured    by   a 
chain  or  pole,   marked  with  feet  and  inches.     Each   plot 
should  be  indicated  by  stakes  or  stones  at  the  boundaries,, 
so  that  the  divisions  will  be  well  defined.     It  is  best   to 


PRECAUTIONS    NECESSARY    IN    MAKING    EXPERIMENTS        37 

have  a  stake  at  each  corner  of  the  different  plots,  which 
should  be  marked  with  the  number  of  the  plot. 

5.  It  is  best  to  have  the  experimental  plots  long  and 
narrow,  because  thus  they  will  average  up  for  unevenness 
of  soil. 

6.  It  is  best  to  separate  plots  by  paths,  in   order  to 
prevent  roots  of  plants  of  one  plot  from  feeding  on  the 
fertilizer  supplied  to  the  adjoining  plots. 

7.  Avoid  windy  days  in  spreading  the  fertilizers,  so 
that  they  may  not  be  blown  and  scattered  unevenly  over 
the  plots. 

8.  All  the  plots  must  be  treated  alike  in  every  respect, 
except  as  to  the  amount  and  kind  of  fertilizer  applied.     The 
same  kind  and  quality  of  seed  must  be  used  over  the  whole 
area.     The  planting  or  sowing  on  all  the  plots  must  be  done 
the  same  day.  (If  a  part  be  planted  before  and  a  part  after  a 
rain,  the  experiment  may  become  valueless.)  Use  every  pre- 
caution necessary  to  secure  a  full  stand  of  plants,  and  if  a 
uniform  stand  has  not  been  secured  at  the  first  planting, 
plow  up  the  whole  field  and  plant  over  again.     Arrange  the 
same  number  of  rows  on  each  plot,  and  the  same  number 
of  hills  and  plants  (as  nearly  as  possible)  in  each  row.     The 
plots  should  be  plowed  and  cultivated  alike,  and  whatever 
operation  is  needed  in  the  experimental  field,  should   be 
carried  out  uniformly  all  over  the  plots. 

9.  The  harvesting  of  the  crop  and  weighing  of  yields 
must  be  accurate.     Experiments  are  usually  made  on  plots 
of  one-tenth  or  one-twentieth  of  an  acre,  and  a  mistake  will 


38         PRECAUTIONS    NECESSARY    IN    MAKING    EXPERIMENTS. 

show  ten  or  twenty  fold  when  calculating  the  yields   per 
acre. 

10.  All  this  experimental  work,  requiring  as  it  does, 
care  and  intelligence,  should  be  performed  by  intelligent 
men  and  not  left  to  ignorant  workmen. 


TIME  OF  APPLYING  FERTILIZERS. 

Fertilizers  are  either  broadcasted  evenly  all  over  the 
field  or  drilled  in  ;  and  which  of  these  methods  is  prefer- 
able depends  on  conditions.  As  a  general  rule,  where 
fertilizers  are  used  in  small  quantities  only,  they  are  often 
more  effective  when  applied  with  a  drill,  because  they  come 
closer  to  the  rows  of  planted  crops.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  fertilizers  may  produce  injury  when 
coming  in  direct  contact  with  the  seed  or  the  young  roots 
of  plants,  and  this  danger,  of  course,  is  greater  when  fertil- 
izers are  applied  with  the  drill  and  at  planting  time,  than 
when  applied  broadcast  and  previous  to  planting.  To 
reduce  the  danger  from  injury  when  fertilizers  are  drilled 
in,  it  is  well  to  dilute  them  by  mixing  them  with  several 
times  their  bulk  of  mellow  earth. 

A  useful  method  is  to  apply  the  mineral  fertilizers,  that 
is,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  some  time  before  sowing  or 
planting,  so  that  they  may  mix  thoroughly  with  the  soil. 
On  some  soils  it  would  even  be  best  if  the  potash  and  phos- 
phoric acid  be  applied  in  the  fall  preceding  the  planting. 


TIME    OF    APPLYING    FERTILIZERS.  39 

Nitrogen,  however,  especially  when  in  the  form  of  nitrate 
of  soda,  or  other  very  soluble  compounds,  will  always  give 
best  returns  if  used  at  planting  time,  or  even  after  the  plant- 
ing as  a  topdressing.  Nitrogen  fertilizers  generally  are 
readily  soluble,  and  if  not  taken  up  by  the  plants  shortly 
after  applying  are  apt  to  be  washed  away  by  rains  and  lost. 
At  times  it  is  advantageous  to  apply  nitrogen  fertilizers 
in  two  or  three  doses  during  the  growing  season,  at 
intervals  of  several  weeks. 


PART  III. 

EXPERIMENT  FARM  AT  SOUTHERN  PINES,  N.G 

This  farm  was  established  through  the  enterprise  of 
the  State  Horticultural  Society  of  North  Carolina,  near  the 
town  of  Southern  Pines  in  that  State,  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  making  the  most  thorough  experiments  with  differ- 
ent fertilizers  on  different  crops.  The  plans  and  operations 
are  so  outlined,  that  the  plant  food  requirements  of  a  great 
variety  of  crops  can  be  studied  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
make  the  results  useful,  not  alone  to  the  special  section  in 
which  these  experiments  are  located,  but  to  every  farmer, 
vegetable  and  fruit  grower  in  the  United  States.  It  was 
essential  in  this  connection  to  select  a  locality  in  a 
climate  suited  to  a  variety  of  crops,  and  a  soil  of  uniform 


40  EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C. 

and  low  natural  fertility,  so  that  it  may  represent  an  average 
condition  of  generally  worn-out  soils.  No  place  could  have 
been  better  suited  for  the  purpose  sought  than  that  selected 
for  these  experiments. 

The  farm  is  situated  in  what  is  known  as  the  long-leaf 
pine  belt,  covering  an  enormous  area  of  this  country  and 
reaching  through  the  Atlantic  States  from  Virginia  to 
Texas.  Thus  it  is  located  in  a  section  which  is  typical  for 
a  considerable  portion  of  this  country  and  represented  in 
nearly  every  southern  state.  Moreover,  the  soil,  being  of  a 
thin,  sandy,  uniform  texture,  is  very  favorable  for  these 
experiments.  It  was  virgin  at  the  time  that  the  farm  was 
established,  and  therefore,  uninfluenced  by  the  effect  of 
previous  manuring  and  other  operations  tending  to  make 
the  soil  less  uniform.  The  town  of  Southern  Pines,  near 
which  the  farm  is  located,  is  easily  accessible,  a-nd  many 
farmers  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  visit  the 
Experiment  Farm  and  to  study  the  operations  there  as  an 
object  lesson. 

The  Experiment  Farm  is  divided  into  two  departments, 
one  of  them  especially  intended  for  the  study  of  annual 
farm  crops  and  the  other  for  perennial  fruit  crops.  It  com- 
prises in  all  about  80  acres.  The  principle  employed  is 
that  of  plot  experimenting,  as  described  in  a  previous 
chapter.  Thus  the  farm  comprises  certain  series,  each 
series  representing  a  particular  crop  to  be  experimented 
upon,  and  each  of  these  series  is  subdivided  into  a  certain 
number  of  plots  treated  with  different  elements  of  plant 


EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES,    N     C.  41 

food  in  various  combinations.  Thus  one  plot  receives  no 
fertilizer  at  all ;  another  plot  is  fertilized  with  only  potash 
and  nitrogen  ;  a  third  plot  has  potash  and  phosphoric  acid, 
while  a  fourth  has  all  three  elements  of  plant  food,  namely, 
potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen.  Further  variations 
are  made  by  increasing  and  decreasing  the  amounts  of 
potash  or  the  other  two  ingredients.  On  some  plots  lime 
is  added,  while  green-manuring  is  given  to  other  plots  in 
order  to  study  its  effects.  These  experimental  plots  usually 
are  1/20  or  i/io  of  an  acre  in  size  and  are  separated  by 
paths  and  roadways.  Each  series  is  cultivated,  harrowed 
and  treated  in  the  same  manner,  except  as  to  the  amounts 
of  fertilizer  used. 

The  progress  of  these  experiments  is  being  carefully 
noted  during  the  growing  season  under  the  guidance  of 
trained  observers,  and  a  careful  record  is  kept  of  all  obser- 
vations made,  to  ascertain  not  only  the  rate  of  growth,  but 
also  the  general  vigor  and  health  of  the  plants  upon  the 
different  plots,  also  the  effects  of  wet  weather,  drouth, 
disease,  attacks  of  insects,  etc.  At  the  end  of  each  season 
the  product  from  each  plot  is  compared  in  quality  with  the 
yield  from  other  plots,  while  the  quantity  grown  in  each 
plot  is  accurately  measured. 

The  experiments  with  each  particular  crop  are  con- 
tinued through  a  series  of  many  years,  so  as  to  obtain  an 
average  and  a  true  knowledge  of  the  various  conditions 
and  effects,  from  which  the  irregularities  of  certain  seasons 
have  become  eliminated.  It  is  only  after  a  number  of  sue- 


42  EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C. 

cessiyve  years  that  correct  and  authoritative  conclusions  can 
finally  be  reached. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Hor- 
ticultural Society  and  the  managers  of  the  Experiment 
Farm,  some  illustrations  have  been  obtained,  showing  the 
progress  of  the  work,  which  are  reproduced  here. 


REMOVING  STUMPS, 


The  appearance  of  the  experimental  field  after  the 
clearing  of  the  land  and  the  manner  of  clearing  are  shown 
in  the  above  illustration.  It  should  be  noted  that  the  clear- 
ing and  breaking  of  the  land  was  done  with  special  regard 
to  the  experiments  to  be  carried  on  there  ;  all  stumps  were 
dug  out  and  not  burned,  because  the  burning  would  pro- 


EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C. 


43 


duce   ashes,  which  would  furnish  fertilizing  material  for 
some  spots,  while  others  would  be  left  without  it. 

The  following  illustration  shows  the  field  after  the 
land  has  been  prepared,  and  is  ready  for  the  planting  of 
crops. 


READY    FOR    PLANTING. 

The  fertilizers  are  compounded  with  more  than  ordi- 
nary care  and  accuracy.  They  are  applied  uniformly  over 
the  area  of  each  plot  under  the  supervision  of  competent 
men.  The  amounts  of  different  fertilizing  ingredients  are 
carefully  weighed  and  applied  separately  to  each  plot,  and 
in  some  cases  to  each  plant.  The  work  of  applying  the 
fertilizers  is  shown  in  the  illustration  on  the  next  pagre.  f 


44  EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C. 


APPLYING    FERTILIZERS. 


Three  series  of  combinations  of  the  principal  plant 
foods  are  now  under  way  at  this  Experiment  Farm.  One 
series  is  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  effect  of  potash;  the 
second  to  the  effect  of  nitrogen;  the  third  to  the  effect  of 
phosphoric  acid.  In  each  series  the  quantities  range  from 
a  small  amount  of  fertilizer  to  what  may  be  considered  an 
excess.  In  the  four  illustrations  on  the  pages  following 
the  effect  of  fertilizers  on  sweet  potatoes  in  some  of  the 
experimental  plots  is  illustrated.  In  the  first  illustration  is 
shown  the  actual  yield  obtained  from  one  plot  which 
received  no  fertilizer  (the  plots  in  this  series  contain  ^  of 
an  acre  each).  The  yield  calculated  to  an  acre  was  30 


EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES.    N.    C. 


45 


u 
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1 


46  EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT   SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C. 


Is 


EXPERIMENT   FARM   AT   SOUTHERN    PINES,   N.    C. 


47 


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N 

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48  EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C. 


81 

a.   O 


2 

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EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C.  49 

bushels.     The  next  illustration  shows  results  from  a  plot  to 
which  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  were  applied. 

The  yield  amounted  to  43  bushels  per  acre.  As  will  be 
seen  from  the  picture,  the  amount  of  first-class  potatoes  is 
considerably  larger  than  obtained  from  the  unmanurcd 
plot.  The  next  illustration  shows  the  actual  yield  obtained 
from  a  plot  treated  as  the  preceding  one,  but  with  the 
addition  of  potash. 

The  yield  from  this  plot  was  176  bushels  per  acre. 

It  must  be  noted  that  the  plots  represented  in  the  two 
preceding  illustrations  were  treated  with  what  may  be 
considered  a  moderate  application  of  potash,  phosphoric 
acid  and  nitrogen.  On  other  plots  this  application  of  the 
three  plant  foods  was  doubled  and  trebled,  and  the  illustra- 
tion represented  on  page  48  shows  the  actual  yield  obtained 
on  the  plot  which  received  the  highest  application  of  a 
complete  fertilizer.  The  yield  was  628  bushels  per  acre 

As  it  may  be  of  interest,  it  is  stated  here  that  the 
actual  fertilizer  per  acre  used  on  this  plot  consisted  of 

480  Ibs.  Muriate  of  Potash, 
1200  Ibs.  Acid  Phosphate, 
750  Ibs.  Nitrate  of  Soda. 
Total,  2430  Ibs. 

This  quantity  of  fertilizer  used  per  acre  is  much  more 
than  ordinarily  would  be  applied  upon  the  farm  ;  it  is  what 
is  considered  excessive,  nevertheless,  in  this  particular  in- 
stance the  excessive  application  was  both  useful  and  remu- 
nerative. An  adjoining  plot,  to  which  only  f  of  this 
amount  (1620  Ibs.  in  ail)  was  applied,  produced  506  bushels 


5O  EXPERIMENT    FARM    AT    SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C. 

per  acre,  that  is  122  bushels  less.  On  the  plot  re- 
ceiving more  than  2400  Ibs.  of  fertilizer  per  acre  the  actual 
cost  per  bushel  of  potatoes  to  the  grower,  including  seed- 
ing, cultivation  and  fertilizers  used,  was  only  8  cents  per 
bushel.  Making  the  same  calculation  on  the  yield  ob- 
tained on  the  unfertilized  plot,  the  cost  per  bushel  of 
potatoes  was  50  cents. 

These  results  were  obtained  in  a  season  which  was 
favorable  to  the  growth  of  sweet  potatoes.  In  ordinary 
seasons  excessive  applications  of  fertilizers  often  do  not 
produce  such  paying  results,  and  medium  amounts  are 
most  profitable ;  nevertheless,  the  example  shows  what  can 
be  done  in  a  favorable  season,  and  this  also  is  a  valuable 
lesson  to  the  grower. 

This  brief  outline  of  the  operations  at  the  Experi- 
mental Farm  at  Southern  Pines  will  give  the  practical 
farmer  some  idea  of  the  value  and  importance  of  the  tests 
being  made  to  study  the  question  of  how  to  fertilize  differ- 
ent crops  in  the  best  and  most  economical  manner. 

The  results  thus  far  obtained  have  thrown  much  light 
on  the  problems  of  plant  feeding,  and  the  conclusions 
drawn  promise  to  be  of  great  value  and  usefulness  to 
every  farmer,  fruit  and  vegetable  grower  in  the  United 
States.  The  farm  management  issues  publications  for  the 
benefit  of  agriculture,  which  may  be  obtained  free  by  the 
applicant,  and  there  will  thus  be  spread,  as  widely  as 
possible,  practical  information  of  great  value  to  the  farm- 
ers of  the  North  and  South,  East  and  West. 


PART  IV. 

RESULTS  OF  OFFICIAL  FERTILIZER 
EXPERIMENTS. 

Our  experiment  stations  are  now  at  work  finding  out 
what  forms  and  quantities  of  fertilizers  will  best  supply  the 
soils  and  crops  at  the  lowest  cost.  Although  each  station 
works  upon  the  soils  and  crops  of  its  own  region,  the 
results  of  such  work  are  often  of  great  value  to  the  farmers 
of  other  states.  Thus,  the  results  with  fertilizers  for  cotton 
and  remedies  for  cotton  blight  are  useful  to  the  planters  of 
all  cotton  growing  states.  The  results  obtained  at  the 
West  Virginia  and  Connecticut  stations  with  fertilizers 
upon  potatoes  may  apply  also  in  New  York  and  Ohio. 
What  is  found  as  the  result  of  a  certain  kind  of  fertilizer 
upon  corn  at  the  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  stations  may  be 
useful  to  farmers  in  Virginia  and  Illinois. 

The  results  of  experiments  with  fertilizers  are  pub- 
lished in  many  of  the  experiment  station  "bulletins."  It  is 
important  that  the  practical  information  gained  in  the 
experimental  fields  of  the  stations  should  be  known  to  the 
farmers,  not  only  of  the  states  in  which  the  tests  were 
made,  but  to  the  farmers  of  other  states.  For  this  purpose 
we  have  selected  from  experiment  station  bulletins  some 
results  obtained  with  fertilizers  upon  the  most  common  z  nc 
staple  crops.  The  facts  and  illustrations  here  given  are  Ul 
taken  from  the  official  bulletins  and  records. 


COTTON. 

The  following  illustration  is  reproduced  from  the 
picture  in  the  Alabama  Experiment  Station  Bulletin 
No.  36: 

Here   we    see    rows   of   fine,    healthy    cotton    plants, 


V/ITHOUT    KAINIT. 


WITH    KAINIT. 


COTTON.  53 

growing  side  by  side  with  rows  of  cotton,  thin  %  and 
unhealthy  looking. 

A  few  years  ago  Prof.  Atkinson,  who  was  biologist  at 
the  Station,  began  a  series  of  experiments  with  fertilizers 
for  cotton. 

Twenty  experimental  plots  were  arranged.  The  plots 
were  treated  differently;  some  of  them  received  no  manure 
while  most  of  the  plots  had  applications  of  the  various 
fertilizer  ingredients,  such  as  acid  phosphate,  cottonseed 
meal  and  kainit.  The  most  striking  results  were  obtained 
from  the  use  of  kainit.  Prof.  Atkinson  says:  "The  yield 
on  the  kainit  plots  is  increased  from  70  to  100  per  cent, 
above  that  where  no  fertilizer  was  used,  and  an  average  of 
40  per  cent,  increase  over  that  of  any  other  single  fertilizer 
or  combination,  without  the  kainit,  used.*9 

COTTON  BLIGHT. 
(Rust.) 

The  next  illustration  is  taken  from  the  same  bulletin. 

This  shows  the  difference  between  a  strong,  vigorous 
cotton  plant  and  one  that  is  suffering  from  blight  or  red 
rust.  No  cotton  planter  needs  to  be  told  of  the  great  loss 
occasioned  by  this  mysterious  and  much-dreaded  disease. 
It  is  more  destructive  in  some  places  than  in  others,  but 
the  damage  done  all  through  the  South  amounts  to  thou- 
sands of  dollars  every  season. 


54 


COTTON    BLIGHT. 


Cotton  blight  can  be  largely,  if  not  entirely,  prevented 
by  the  use  of  kainit  Prof.  Atkinson  states  as  the  results 
of  his  experiments,  that  "  in  all  of  these  plots  it  was  easy  to 
see  by  comparison  with  the  others  that  the  entire  or  partial 
prevention  of  the  disease  was  due  to  the  kainit  *  *  * 


NO  FERTILIZER. 


POTASH  AND  NITROGEN. 


There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  effect  of  kainit,  as  my 
former  experience  is  the  same  as  that  of  this  year,  but  I 
think  to  thoroughly  prevent  the  disease  would  require  not 
less  than  500  or  600  pounds  of  kainit  per  acre." 


POTATOES. 

The  following  illustration  is  taken  from  the  West 
Virginia  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  No.  20  : 

Here  we  see  two  hills  of  potatoes,  the  difference  in 
development  of  the  plants,  and  also  in  the  product  of  the 
yield  of  tubers.  A  number  of  experimental  plots  were  laid 
out.  Three  rows,  each  one  rod  long  and  three  and  three- 


WITHOUT  POTASH. 


WITH  POTASH. 


tenths  feet  apart,  were  planted  with  potatoes  of  the  White 
Star  variety.  Plot  No.  5  received  no  fertilizer  of  any  kind. 
Plot  No.  3  had  an  application  of  kainit  and  acid  phosphate. 
Now  for  the  results.  The  potatoes  produced  by  the 
three  rows  of  Plot  No.  5  weighed  21  pounds,  and  the 
plants  and  the  potatoes  are  represented  on  the  left  side  of 


56  POTATOES. 

the  picture.  The  potatoes  produced  by  the  three  rows  of 
Plot  No.  3  weighed  55.8  pounds,  and  the  plants  and  the 
potatoes  are  shown  on  the  right-hand  side.  The  increased 
yield  due  to  the  use  of  kainit  and  acid  phosphate  was 
reckoned  to  be  at  the  rate  of  16134  bushels  per  acre. 

Referring  to  Bulletin  No.  61  of  the  Kentucky  Experi- 
ment Station,  dated  March  1896,  we  find  some  very  inter- 
esting experiments  conducted  upon  potatoes,  which  the 
following  illustration  sets  forth  : 

jfrl  ,.  t3jfi|*»-'ii 

'&%>*  -^SSvAG'^x,- 

.:£; 


* 


NO  FERTILIZER.  PHOSPHORIC  ACID  AND  NITROGEN 


POTASH.  POTASH,   PHOSPHORIC  ACID  AND  NITROGEN 

The  season  was  an  unfavorable  one  for  potatoes,  but 
all  the  results  obtained  plainly  reveal  the  importance  of 
potash  for  this  crop.  The  two  plots  on  the  left  side  of 
the  illustration,  Plots  Nos.  5  and  6,  received  no  potash, 
Plot  No,  5  being  unfertilized  and  Plot  No.  6  receiving 
nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid  without  potash.  The  two 
plots  appearing  on  the  right  side  of  the  picture  were 
fertilized  with  potash,  Plot  No.  4  receiving  muriate  of 


POTATOES,  $3 

potash  alone  and  Plot  No.  9  receiving  the  same  applica- 
tion as  Plot  No.  6,  but  with  potash  added.  The  results 
are  very  striking.  The  average  yield  from  the  unfertilized 
plots  was  42.9  bushels.  Potash  alone  produced  87  bushelss 
which  is  an  increase  of  more  than  100  per  cent.  Plot 
No.  9  produced  nearly  127  bushels  against  59  bushels 
from  Plot  No.  6,  where  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  were 
used  without  potash,  being  an  increase  of  115  per  cent 
produced  by  the  use  of  muriate  of  potash. 

One  more  result  may  be  given,  showing  the  favorable 
influence  on  potatoes,  of  a  fertilizer  containing  potash. 
Recent  experiments  (by  Mr.  T.  J.  Stroud)  at  Shaker  Sta- 
tion, Connecticut,  confirm  the  conclusions  reached  inde- 
pendently at  the  West  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Experi- 
ment Stations.  For  the  purpose  of  comparison,  the  yield 
of  potatoes  from  plots  numbered  i,  2  and  4,  all  of  the 
same  size,  are  shown  on  the  preceding  page. 

No.  i  shows  the  yield  of  potatoes  from  a  plot  which 
received  no  fertilizer.  The  product  was  at  the  rate  of  73 
bushels  per  acre.  About  one-half  of  the  potatoes,  as  you 
will  see,  are  small  in  size. 

No.  2  shows  the  yield  of  potatoes  from  a  plot  which 
was  fertilized  with  acid  phosphate  and  nitrate  of  soda. 
Here,  the  yield  was  at  the  rate  of  140  bushels  per  acre. 
About  one-fourth  of  the  potatoes  from  this  plot  were 
undersized. 

No.  4  shows  the  yield  of  potatoes  from  a  plot  which 
received  the  igme  fertilizer  an  No.  a,  but  with  140  poundi 


EXPERIMENT    WITH    POTATOES.       SHAKER    STATION,    CONN, 


POTATOES,  59 

per  acre  of  muriate  of  potash  added.  The  only  differ- 
ence in  treatment  between  this  plot  and  the  preceding 
one  was  the  addition  of  muriate  of  potash.  What  was  the 
result  ?  Here,  the  yield  was  at  the  rate  of  230  bushels 
per  acre.  Notwithstanding  this  large  yield,  only  about 
one-fifth  of  the  potatoes  were  small  in  size. 

This  remarkable  increase  leads  to  the  conclusion  that 
potash  is  the  element  which  exerts  the  most  marked  effect 
upon  the  yield  of  potatoes. 

CORN* 

The  experiments  illustrated  on  the  following  page 
are  described  in  Bulletin  No,  45,  published  in  1893,  of  the 
Kentucky  Experiment  Station. 

Here  the  results  of  the  use  of  different  fertilizers 
upon  corn  and  fodder  are  plainly  illustrated.  Plot  No.  10 
in  the  above  received  an  application  of  nitrogen  only,  but 
shows  no  increase  over  the  unfertilized  plot.  Plot  No.  5, 
which  received  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid,  shows  but  a 
slight  increase  over  the  nitrogen  plot.  On  plot  No.  6, 
where  potash  was  added  to  the  nitrogen,  the  yield  was 
increased  from  27  bushels  to  61.7  bushels  per  acre,  or 
129  per  cent.  On  plot  No.  3,  which  received  potash, 
phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen,  the  yield  was  almost 
identical  with  Plot  No.  6  ;  this  shows  plainly  that  potash 
is  the  regulating  ingredient  in  a  fertilizer  for  corn  upon 
toil  such  as  that  where  the  experiments  were  made,  and 


60  CORN. 


EXPERIMENTS  WITH  CORN.       KENTUCKY    EXPERIMENT  STATIO1* 


CORN.  61 

wherever  it  is  applied,  there  is  a  considerable  increase  in 
the  yield. 

The  illustrations  on  page  62  show  the  results  of  a  series 
of  experiments  with  corn,  conducted  by  Prof.  W.  P.  Brooks 
of  the  Massachusetts  Experiment  Station.  For  the  pur- 
pose of  comparison  the  yields  of  two  plots  of  exactly  the 
same  size  are  given  side  by  side. 

The  first  illustration  shows  the  yield  of  corn  from 
two  plots,  each  -fo  of  an  acre  : 

The  one  marked  "no  fertilizer"  produced  117  pounds 
of  stover  and  123  pounds  of  ear  corn.  The  other  plots 
received  acid  phosphate  and  muriate  of  potash  and  yielded 
ror  pounds  of  stover  and  198  pounds  of  ear  corn,  that  is, 
an  increase  of  61  per  cent,  over  the  plot  not  fertilized 

The  lower  illustration  is  interesting,  as  giving  a 
comparison  between  the  effects  of  chemical  fertilizers  and 
barnyard  manure  on  corn. 

The  plot  receiving  barnyard  manure  produced  188 
pounds  of  stover  and  219  pounds  of  ear  corn.  The  plot, 
which  received  chemical  fertilizers  (consisting  of  nitrate 
•  of  soda,  acid  phosphate  and  muriate  of  potash)  produced 
204  pounds  of  ear  corn,  or  about  the  same  results  as  with 
the  stable  manure. 

The  illustration  on  page  63  is  even  more  valuable  as 
showing  the  marked  effects  of  the  potash  on  corn. 

Here  we  have  two  plots  of  same  size,  one  unfertilized 
and  another  fertilized  with  muriate  of  potash.  Note  the 
wonderful  difference  in  the  yield  of  corn.  The  yield  from 


62 


CORN. 


ACID    PHOSPHATE   AND    MUi 


NO    FERTILIZE] 


BARNYARD    MANURE.  COMPLETE    FERTILIZER. 

EXPERIMENTS    WITH    CORN. 
MASSACHUSETTS   EXPERIMENT    STATION. 


CORN.  63 

the  unfertilized  plot  amounted  to  89  pounds  of  stover  and 
52  pounds  of  ear  corn,  while  from  the  plot  receiving  mu- 
riate of  potash  were  gathered  180  pounds  of  stover  and 
167  pounds  of  ear  corn.  Here  the  increase  of  stover  is 
100  per  cent,  and  that  of  ear  corn  300  per  cent.,  due  to 
the  use  of  potash. 


MURIATE   OF    POTASH. 


NO    FERTILIZER. 


Thus,  the  experiments  with  corn  at  the  Massachusetts 
Experiment  Station  show,  as  they  did  at  the  Kentucky 
Station,  that  the  yield  of  stover  and  ear  corn  follows  the 
amount  of  potash  in  the  fertilizer. 

HEMP. 

The  following  illustration  is  reproduced  from  the  Ken- 
tucky Station  Bulletin  No.  18  : 


HEMP. 


This  shows  the  results  of  the  use  of  fertilizer  on  the 
quantity  of  hemp  produced.  The  quality  of  hemp,  which 
is  a  very  important  item,  was  likewise  improved  by  appli- 
cations containing  potash.  The  yield  on  the  plot  receiving 
no  potash  is,  as  you  will  see,  very  small  in  comparison 
with  the  size  of  the  yield  of  hemp  on  the  plot  which  had 
an  application  of  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen. 


(2)  POTASH 

PHOSPHORIC  ACID 
NITROGEN 


(3)  PHOSPHORIC  ACII 
NITROGEN 


HEMP  EXPERIMENTS  AT  KENTUCKY  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

The  experiments  were  made  on  blue  grass  land,  much 
worn,  and  considered  by  most  farmers  unfit  for  hemp. 
Further  results  are  given  in  Bulletin  No.  27  of  the  same 
station.  The  results  show  that  a  fertilizer  containing 
about  6  per  cent,  phosphoric  acid,  4  per  cent,  nitrogen 
and  10  per  cent,  potash  will  produce  good  results  on  hemp. 


PART  V. 

USEFUL  TABLES* 

Farmers  and  planters  must  do  a  little  thinking  on 
their  own  account,  to  apply  any  useful  information  to 
their  own  surroundings.  At  best,  scientific  experimenters 
can  only  give  general  directions  —  all  farms  cannot  be 
studied  in  detail,  and  there  are  no  two  farms  exactly  alike. 
We  have  given  in  this  book  such  information  that  a 
thoughtful  farmer  should  be  able  to  figure  out  his  local 
needs.  As  a  general  aid,  the  following  tables  are  given, 
taken  from  reliable  sources. 

COMPOSITION  OF  POTASH  SALTS 

GUARANTEED 
NAME   OF    SALTS  PER    CENT 

OF  ACTUAL  POTASH 

A.  Salts  containing  Chlorides: 

Muriate  of  Potash 50 

Manure  Salt 20 

Kainit  (crude  potash  salt) 12 

B.  Salts  free  of  chlorides: 

Sulphate  of  Potash 48 

Sulphate  of  Potash-Magnesia.  .  .  25 


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USUAL  DISTANCES  FOR  PLANTING 
VEGETABLES-(Bailey). 

Asparagus,  rows  3  to  4  feet  apart,  i  to  2  feet  apart  in  rows, 

Beans,  bush,  2  to  3  feet  apart,  i  foot  apart  in  rows. 

Beans,  pole,  3  to  4  feet  each  way. 

Beets,  early,  in  drills  12  to  18  inches  apart. 

Beets,  late,  in  drills  2  to  3  feet  apart. 

Cabbage,  early,  16x28  inches  to  18x30  inches. 

Cabbage,  late,  2x3  feet  to  2^x3^  feet. 

Carrots,  in  drills  i  to  2  feet  apart. 

Cauliflower,  2x2  feet  to  2x3  feet. 

Celery,  rows  3  to  4  feet  apart,  6  to  9  inches  in  row. 

Corn,  sweet,  rows  3  to  3^-  feet  apart,  9  inches  to  2  feet  in  rows. 

Cucumber,  4  to  5  feet  each  way. 

Egg-plant,  3x3  feet. 

Lettuce,  ixi^  feet  or  2  feet. 

Melon,  Musk,  5  to  6  feet  each  way. 

Melon,  Water,  7  to  8  feet  each  way. 

Onions,  in  drills  from  14  to  20  inches  apart. 

Parsnip,  in  drills  1 8  inches  to  3  feet  apart. 

Peas,  in  drills  early  kinds,  usually  in  doable  rows  from  6  to 

9  inches  apart ;  late,  in  single  rows  2  to  3  feet  apart. 
Pepper,  15  to  18  jnches  x  2  to  2%  feet. 
Potatoes,  10  to  18  inches  x  2\  to  3  feet 
Pumpkin,  8  to  10  feet  each  way. 
Radish,  in  drills  10  to  18  inches  apart. 
Rhubarb,  2  to  4  feet  x  4  feet. 
Salsify,  in  drills  i^  to  2  feet  apart. 
Spinach,  in  drills  12  to  18  inches  apart. 
Squash,  3  to  4  feet  x  4  feet. 
Sweet  Potatoes,  2  feet  x  3  to  4  feet. 
Tomato,  4  feet  x  4  to  5  feet. 
Turnip,  in  drills  i£  to  2^  feet  apart. 


DISTANCES  FOR  PLANTING  TREES* 

(In  planting  trees  the  greater  distance  should  be  given  ofl 
the  richer  soils*) 

Apples 20  to  30  feet  each  way. 

Pears  (Standard) 20  "  25     "       " 

Pears  (Dwarf) 12  "  15     "       " 

Quinces 15  "       '•         " 

Peaches 18  "  24     "       " 

Plums 15  "  20     "       " 

Cherries 15  "  20     "       «' 

Figs 12  "  15     "       " 

Japan  Persimmons 15   "  20     "       ** 

Mulberries 20  "  25     "       " 

Oranges  (Sweet) 20  u  25     "       "         u 

Oranges  (Japanese) 12  "  15     "       "         ** 

Blackberries 6  by  4 

Raspberries 6    u   3 

Currants 5    "   3 

Gooseberries 5    "   3 

Strawberries  (Hills) 36x18  inches. 

Strawberries  (Matted  rows) 48x12       " 

Grapes 8x8  to  10x12  feet. 


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